Eyelash Shirt

This was clever.

Robot Sanatorium Re-Do

Written 29 August, 2011

Robot Sanatorium Re-Do

Because of the large scale of the robot sanatorium on Whimsy Kaboom, it was necessary to choose from a limited number of megaprims or use multiple 10-meter prims to span distances. The ramps, for instance, required two prims for the floors and two for each side for each span. The floor was made of 10x and 20x prims; because parts of the floor are solid and parts are steel mesh, it wasn't possible to use a single megaprim. Walls required multiple prims.

I set out to save as many prims as possible by stretching prims, replacing two or three, or in some cases as many as six, with a single prim. In the end, I saved about 140 prims at the sanatorium alone.

Because of its patchwork nature the floor was a challenge, but I saved prims there, too.

 Below the fold you'll find some screen shots of the process.

Woo Hoo, I Can Stretch Prims to 64 Meters!!!

Written 29 August, 2011

Woo Hoo, I Can Stretch Prims to 64 Meters!!!

The new mesh server software went grid-wide about a week ago and I've been having a grand time going around the Whimsy sims and freeing up prims by replacing two or three identical 10-meter long prims with one newly-stretched mega.

I didn't free up as many prims on Whimsy as I had thought-- maybe 50, or at the Temple of Doom (maybe 10), but Whimsy Kaboom now has 200 more prims-- highly significant for a Homestead region with just 3750 primitives.

The physics engine seems to have been updated as well. My rocket, which flew to about 550 meters, is now soaring as high as 800 meters.

And of course, there's mesh. I bought a pair of mesh jeans and forced myself to load the latest iteration of Viewer 2 (called Viewer 3, but identical to V2 except for mesh support, which at the moment Firestorm doesn't have.

My next post will be about prim saving, and the one after about mesh.

A New Motorcycle, and an Old One

Written 28 August, 2011

A New Motorcycle, And An Old One

Above you can see me with my ride from 19 Motorcycle.

Here I am with my older motorcycle, the MLCC Rocket.

Tiny Party

My friend Leaf Shermer (who owns the Eccenricity Estate that adjoins our Whimsy Estate) has been tiny a lot lately. I tried to get her to take more calcium, but she says she likes being tiny.

Tuesday night on Eccentricity is party time for Leaf and her friends.  I joined last week and had a great time. The 50s and 60s music was awesome.

See the flying book in the foreground? That's me!

Phyneas Jack's Lookout

Written 21 August, 2011

Phyneas Jack's Lookout

Tonight I found myself at loose ends and teleported to a few locations to see if they were still around.

First up was Phyneas Jack's Lookout, a little shack perched precariously atop thin poles in the Rodeo sim. It's at the end of a long ridge that marks the eastern terminus of the Forest of Karuhvel, which lies within the Stinson, Rodeo, Noyo, and Cowell regions.

The lookout is positively ancient by Second Life standards, perhaps six years old. I know it was one of the first places I found when I first rezzed in October 2006. Ever since, it's been one of my favorite places to stand. I go there whenever I take the notion. Sometimes there's no one there and I savor the silence. Sometimes others are present, and I have nice conversations, for they're there for the same reason as I-- to enjoy the place.

Cast Away on Whimsy Kaboom!

Written 19 August, 2011

Cast Away on Whimsy Kaboom!

They arrived a week ago Wednesday on a broken-down tardis, a group of Second Life explorers from the group +Torchwood+, who found themselves marooned on the beautiful but dangerous Whimsy sims.

They set up camp under the shadow of these big rocks on Kaboom...

... but a rainstorm washed them out.

MetaStock

Written 17 August, 2011

MetaStock

I didn't make it to Woodstock, but I did make it to the Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival some years later. It wasn't held anywhere near the Erie Canal, and there was no soda pop, and no pop music for that matter, just rock, and not much of that because of the rain. I drove with friends from Tennessee to Indiana in a 1963 Ford Econoline fan with a big hole in the floor where the passenger's seat should have been. The festival was continuously rainy, and we left on the second day. I heard like five minutes of music-- Dr. John-- before the weather drowned out his set.

It wasn't the greatest of experiences, but I do love to listen to music, and I've always liked the idea of listening outdoors. I've pretty much found that here in Second Life with music festivals.

This weekend Sweetie and I took ourselves to MetaStock.

Skype

Written 14 August, 2011

Skype

Before there was Second Life voice there was Skype-- a  service that allowed free voice and webcam calls between (or among, as there can be multi-way calls) internet users. Sweetie and I began using it in late 2006 or 2007.

Kaboom Sometimes Seems so Peaceful

Kamakazi Champagne

Cheyenne Likes Champagne

Written 8 August, 2011

Kamikaze Champagne

I'm not much of a drinker, but I love champagne.

It being predicted to reach 96 degrees Fahrenheit outside today, meaning I wouldn't be leaving the house, I decided to chill a bottle of Veuve de Vernay-- inexpensive bubbly. An hour ago I popped the cork and  made a mimosa. I capped the sparkling wine with a rubber cork and leaned it against a head of cauliflower on a shelf in my refrigerator.

My drink didn't last long, so I went back into the kitchen to make a second. In fact, my plan was to return again and again until the bottle was empty.

I added ice to my glass and poured in some orange juice. My mistake was not reaching for the Veuve first, for just as I was about to grab it it it rolled away from the cauliflower and fell 18" to the bottom lip of the fridge. Upon impact, the cork made a POP sound and went sailing, followed by a one-inch thick stream of champagne that soaked my jeans, the floor, my cabinets, the front of the dishwasher, and the inside and outside of the fridge.

I grabbed the bottle as fast as I could, but there was only enough wine to fill my glass. I mopped up the wine with my trousers and a towel, tossed them into the washer, and made a quick run at the floor with a mop. Then I came upstairs to write this.

Sensei Cheyenne Instructs a Newbie in the Ways of Second Life

Written 7 August, 2011

Sensei Cheyenne Instructs a Newbie in the Ways of Second Life

"Please, Sensei Cheyenne, how can I change my avatar?"

"The ways of the Advanced Mode are passing strange. To get there, you must first die."

"Die?"

"Yes, the big X at the upper right of your screen. You must embrace it. When you come back, you will choose the Advanced Path, and your inventory will appear to you."

"Thank you, Sensei."